Your Health

The nursing home staffing crisis right now is like nothing we've seen before

9:13pm January 20, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

COVID cases and deaths are rising again in nursing homes across the country due to the highly contagious omicron variant. Staffing shortages are adding to strain and workers report "moral distress."

A photo of Tony Tsantinis hangs in a collage set up for a celebration of his life on the final day that Athens Pizza in Brimfield, Mass., was open for business.

Doctors called 17 hospitals looking for an ICU bed. He died waiting for a transfer

4:14pm January 19, 2022

by Martha Bebinger

A beloved pizzeria owner in Brimfield, Mass., had COVID-19 and needed dialysis, but it wasn't available at the hospital where he died. The health system is "breaking down," a hospital CEO says.

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Health & Safety

More than a third of U.S. adults don't get enough sleep. Here's how to get the rest we need

10:19am January 16, 2022

by Sacha Pfeiffer

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks with Lauren Whitehurst, a cognitive neuroscientist specializing in sleep, about who in our society doesn't get enough sleep and why that's a problem.

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NIOSH-approved N95 masks are recommended to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 omicron variant.

Health & Safety

Ready for an N95? Here's how to find a high-quality one that fits you well

7:52pm January 15, 2022

by Maria Godoy

The CDC says high-filtration masks like N95s provide the best protection. Here's how to find a good one — and avoid the fakes. Plus tips on how to fit them and how long to wear them.

Health & Safety

Want to get omicron and just get it over with? Here's why that's a bad idea

5:00am January 15, 2022

Most of us will eventually get COVID but that's not an invitation to party with omicron. Here's why you might want to hang onto your mask and keep cautious a little longer.

Health & Safety

The omicron surge may be starting to peak in some parts of the U.S.

2:28pm January 14, 2022

by Rob Stein

Infections appear to have started to either crest or fall in some parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, but hospitalizations and deaths tend to lag.

Licensed practical nurse Yokasta Castro, of Warwick, R.I., draws a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe. The vaccines have now been linked to minor changes in menstruation, but are still considered safe.

COVID vaccines may briefly change your menstrual cycle, but you should still get one

5:00pm January 06, 2022

by Geoff Brumfiel

The new research affirms what many individuals had reported. But it also shows the changes to the menstrual cycle are mostly minor and brief, more akin to a sore arm than a dangerous reaction.

Ambiguous loss describes a type of distress many of us have experienced over the last two years, as the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted and eroded many parts of life. Author and therapist Pauline Boss' book explains how ambiguous loss works and how to

When facing loss, embrace change and don't force closure, a therapist urges

4:42pm January 05, 2022

by Graison Dangor

Over the last two years, many have experienced a kind of ambiguous loss as we have lived with isolation and uncertainty in the pandemic. Author and therapist Pauline Boss explains how to move forward.

People wait in line for a COVID-19 test at a testing site in Los Angeles on Tuesday. California is starting to feel the full wrath of the omicron variant. Hospitalizations have jumped nearly 50% since Christmas and models show that in a month the state co

The CDC resists pushback and says a test to get out of COVID isolation is not needed

8:25pm January 04, 2022

Those who contracted COVID-19 can end their isolation after five days while continuing to wear a well-fitting mask for an additional five days, according to the agency.

Image of a person looking lovingly at themselves in the mirror, surrounded by positive affirmations written on sticky notes.

22 tips for 2022: How to be kind to yourself and squash your critical inner voice

6:00am January 02, 2022

by Keisha "TK" Dutes

Next time you're stuck in a cycle of negative self-talk, try talking to yourself the way you would talk to your best friend.

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